


Russian Surprises

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Series: The Grand Tour [9]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Raleigh is totally cool with a small army of cats, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, birthday fic, i'm a sap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 06:43:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2763494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bit of fluffy goodness for the golden retriever that is Raleigh Becket. </p>
<p>Related to Athene Noctua~</p>
            </blockquote>





	Russian Surprises

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Confabulatrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Confabulatrix/gifts), [knightphoenix2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightphoenix2/gifts), [pickleplum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickleplum/gifts), [artificiallifecreator](https://archiveofourown.org/users/artificiallifecreator/gifts).



> In honor of Raleigh's belated womb emancipation day, I'm writing a fic. :) I identify so much with Rals in the Athene Verse that I had to give him a happy b-day. Dunno how mine's gonna go; might as well give one of my favs a good one. 
> 
> Btw, everyone's speaking Russian unless otherwise stated. 
> 
> Enjoy!~

* * *

**-December 11, 2025-**

Raleigh breathes in the salt air that whips Mako's hair back and ruffles his own. Yuri and Irina's tiny cottage by the sea is brightly lit as they walk the remainder of the way after the taxi drops them off. Raleigh hums as Mako laces her fingers with his, both of them pleased with their joint decision to visit Raleigh's old friends. 

Mako knocks on the door and blinks at the sudden wash of light as Irina pulls both of them inside. 

"You brought your beloved. Hello, I am Irina and my lazy bear of a husband is Yuri. Come, come. Have some kvass." Irina introduces herself to Mako as she ushers Mako into a chair. "Kick off your boots. Raleigh knows what to do with them." 

Raleigh grins at the mother-henning she's giving Mako but sets the boots next to the heater and snags them a pair of slippers. He lovingly massages Mako's feet before putting on the fluffy slippers for her. She leans down and presses a soft, sweet kiss to his lips in thanks. 

**Saiai, you don't have to do that. It's your birthday.** Mako chides lightly with a teasing poke along the link. Raleigh chuckles as he presses another kiss to Mako's slightly chapped lips as he pulls out chapstick. He offers it to her after he slides on his own slippers. 

_But since it is my birthday, I c'n do what I want so if I wanna spoil my lady, I can._ Raleigh counters as heavy weight pushes against his leg. He turns and-

"Is that Patches?!" The tiny cat is enormous now, the thick fluffy fur having been hinted at when she'd been younger. " _Hey baby girl_." She mrows loudly, butting against his hand again with a pleased purr. He scoops her up and laughs when she curls around his shoulders like a shawl, paws drooping over on either side. "You kept her with you." 

"Well, your Uncle kept her until now but before we could spay..." Irina twists her ruffled apron edge in her hands and Raleigh's surrounded by kittens that come from the other room. "She went and got pregnant. We did not have the money for spaying and she had the litter on the Wall after you left." 

"Sneaky little booger. I knew you were heavier than I remembered." Raleigh shakes his finger in Patches' face and she looks at him with an expression that wouldn't look out of place on Hermann. The kittens all tumble into his lap and he picks them up to see which ones are which. 

Mako slides out of the chair, getting two of the kittens to fall into her lap with adorable little mews. She's completely enthralled by the lapful of cute and he can't really blame her; he's the same way about anything cute and fluffy. **They are so kawaii. I miss being able to pet cats.**

"We spayed her when the kittens were old enough. Our sincere-" Raleigh holds up a hand to stop Yuri's apology. 

"Nothin' to apologize for Yuri. I'm alright with a batch of kittens, I promise." he points out with his cat wrapped around his shoulders and the kittens nomming on his fingers. "How old are they?" 

"About ten months. She had them in Feburary." Yuri admits as one of the kittens climbs his leg like it's a pole. "This one is Aleksis." The smile they share is bittersweet but Aleksis meows impatiently at one of the other kittens that don't look like Patches at all. "We found Sasha a bit after Patches gave birth. She was very weak and we feared she would not be accepted." 

"Patch licked her butt and settled her in, didn't she?" Raleigh asks as he scritches Patches under the chin. "She's a momma cat through 'n through." 

"Yes. Are we leaving out your beloved or...?" Irina inputs as she brings out the steaming cups of kvass. She hands them off to Raleigh and Mako, tapping Patches on the nose when the cat tries to drink out of Raleigh's mug. 

"I understand Russian and speak it but I do not trust my... pronounciation." Mako admits frankly as she scoops up the kittens and giggles. 

"You are fine, don't worry. We are having potato soup, pelmeni and knish and a French dessert we bought before the snow dropped." Irina hums as she bustles around them with her reindeer-decorated socks. "I tried to make it but I did not make the dough thin enough for my liking." 

"What were you making?" He asks as he tickles one of the kittens in his lap. 

"None of your business until we are done with dinner." she replies with a look that makes Raleigh grin sheepishly. "Good. Need a refill?" 

Mako holds up her mug since she now has four kittens in her lap, all of them in various states of sleep. Sasha and Aleksis are curled up in Yuri's lap and the remaining two are with Raleigh along with Patches. 

"Do they all have names?" he absently inquires as he pillows his head on Patches' fluffy tummy. 

"Da. The dark kittens are named after the _Typhoon_ pilots and little fierce ginger is named after _Striker_ pilot. This one... He does not have a name and will not answer anything we call him. Little outside kitten that tries to run away." The dark brown kitten in Raleigh's lap stirs and cracks open a golden eye as if in reproach. "We think he has a friend." 

"Maks?" 

"Stacker... and Tamsin for the other kitten he wants to get back to," Mako announces solemnly. The kitten suddenly stands up and bolts straight for Mako, landing on her shoulders and copying Patches in the way he lays. 

"Stacker it is." _It's a good namesake._

**Yes.** None of them mention the tears at the corners of Mako's eyes and Raleigh feels a press of love across the link which he returns with a wash of affection. 

Dinner is eaten and then Irina brings out a fluffy sponge cake decorated with strawberries as well as little curls of chocolate as she sings 'Happy Birthday' in Russian. Raleigh ducks his head and thanks her after he blows out the candles. Yuri places a hand on his left shoulder and gives a little squeeze since that one is the healed one. 

His present is a journal full of letters from his various teams, telling him all about their days and the paid bill from his storage in Nome. The latter comes with a phone number that states they're open for as long as he needs them to be. Mako touches her forehead to his as they wash the link with affection and love. _Gipsy_ joins in and they giggle at the amount of joy present in their bond.

* * *

After dinner, Raleigh clips a harness onto Stacker to look for Tamsin. The large kitten (close to an adult) leads him directly to a tiny alcove and meows with a long note. A tiny nose pokes out and is followed by another, two younger kittens tumbling out of the alcove with mews and chirps. Raleigh scoops all three up in a swift move that makes him grimace a little when it pulls on his scars. 

The other two squirm in his hold so he plops them into the tall towel-lined box along with Stacker as Mako starts Irina's truck. The kittens mewl pitifully until Raleigh sticks his hand in and pets them to sleep. 

The little ones curled into a ball, the vibrant auburn kitten bracketed by Stacker and the other brown kitten. They drive back to the Orlovs and show the new kittens to Yuri. His old supervisor coos at them, setting the box down so that Seshka and Patches can sniff the babies. 

Seshka climbs right in and starts grooming Tamsin, earning a disgruntled mewl. Stacker and the other kitten are bracketed by Patches also squeezing into the box, licking Stacker's chest tuft. She turns her attention onto the brown female and the kitten barely moves as Patches washes her with wide swathes of her tongue. 

**_Coyote says Stacker had a sister. Her name was Luna._**

" _ **Coyote** said he's got a name for the little brown one. Said Stacker had a sister named Luna a long time ago._ " Raleigh says in Japanese, smiling as Mako curls into his lap and the kittens pile onto her. Patches meows and the kittens scatter as his enormous calico plops into Mako's lap and pillows her head on Mako's thigh. The purring that starts up is nearly as loud as the generator going outside. " _She likes you an' she's real picky about that. Guess my cat approves of my co-pilot._ " He laughs softly as Yuri and Irina share the large rocker with Seshka and the kittens. 

" _Did I need it?_ " Mako's teasing him with a brush of laughter down the link. Raleigh presses back and revels in the joy of having a solid bond with Mako and Gipsy. He'd missed the link not to mention Yancy more than he can ever elaborate. 

" _Nah. But she's my Wall buddy; got me an' whatever remains of Yan through those years._ " Raleigh hums as he sinks his finger into the lush fur of his cat with a casual arm around Mako's waist as support. " _'Snice an' quiet. Don't think I've had such a quiet birthday since '07._ "

Mako leans back and kisses him with a smile pulling her lips up. 

Yeah, Raleigh thinks it's a great birthday overall.

**Author's Note:**

> KITTIES! Bby kitties! All the fluff, literal and figurative~ Loved, hated, range of a teaspoon? 
> 
> For those curious as to Patches' breed, she's a Norwegian Forest Cat. :)


End file.
